House Bill 1379

AN ACT TO CODIFY NEW SECTION 43-13-121.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE DIVISION OF MEDICAID SHALL IMPLEMENT A "MONEY FOLLOWS THE PERSON" PROCESS BY WHICH FUNDING FOR NURSING FACILITY SERVICES FOR MEDICAID-ELIGIBLE BENEFICIARIES MAY BE USED TO PAY FOR HOME- AND COMMUNITY-BASED WAIVER SERVICES FOR THOSE NURSING FACILITY RESIDENTS WHO CHOOSE THOSE SERVICES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 43-13-121.1, Mississippi Code of 1972:

43-13-121.1. (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to implement a "money follows the person" process by which a portion of the money used to cover the cost of nursing facility services for Medicaid-eligible beneficiaries may be transferred to fund home- and community-based waiver services through the Elderly and Disabled Waiver, the Independent Living Waiver, and the Traumatic Brain Injury/Spinal Cord Injury Waiver programs.

(2) Notwithstanding any other state law, the Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid is authorized to transfer funds allocated for nursing facility services for Medicaid-eligible nursing facility residents to cover the cost of home- and community-based waiver services if the nursing facility resident meets the eligibility criteria for either the Elderly and Disabled Waiver, the Independent Living Waiver, or the Traumatic Brain Injury/Spinal Cord Injury Waiver program and the resident chooses to receive those services.

(3) The authority of the executive director of the division to transfer funds from nursing facility services shall extend to home- and community-based waiver programs administered by the division and the Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(4) Under the "money follows the person" process, the executive director of the division shall transfer funds to cover the cost of services provided through the Elderly and Disabled Waiver, the Independent Living Waiver, and the Traumatic Brain Injury/Spinal Cord Injury Waiver programs to Medicaid-eligible nursing facility residents who choose to leave the nursing facility and receive home- and community-based waiver services. The executive director of the division shall ensure that the amount transferred under this section is redirected to the appropriate home- and community-based waiver program in an amount sufficient to provide waiver services to each nursing facility resident upon his or her discharge from the nursing facility.

(5) The number of nursing facility residents who receive home- and community-based waiver services through this "money follows the person" process will not count against the total number of unduplicated individuals approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to receive home- and community-based services. Instead, the division shall amend the Elderly and Disabled Waiver, the Independent Living Waiver, and the Traumatic Brain Injury/Spinal Cord Injury Waiver programs, as necessary, to obtain authorization from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to specifically serve this group of former nursing facility residents through the "money follows the person" process.

(6) Two months before implementation of this "money follows the person" process, the executive director of the division shall send a letter to all Medicaid-eligible nursing facility residents informing them of the option to obtain home- and community-based waiver services through this process and providing them with a central contact point for applying for home- and community-based waiver services.

(7) The executive director of the division shall submit an annual report by January 1 of each year to the Legislature and to the Mississippi Access to Care (MAC) Oversight Committee concerning: (a) the number of individuals who have transitioned from nursing facilities to the Elderly and Disabled Waiver, the Independent Living Waiver, and the Traumatic Brain Injury/Spinal Cord Injury Waiver programs; (b) the number of individuals in nursing facilities who have indicated that they want to return to the community; and (c) the number of individuals on referral lists for the Elderly and Disabled Waiver, the Independent Living Waiver, and the Traumatic Brain Injury/Spinal Cord Injury Waiver programs.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.